The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for coordinating Internet communication between two users. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for coordinating Internet multi-media communication such that the two users can view and modify a copy of the same multi-media content, where any modifications made by one user are subsequently viewed by a second user, as well as enhancing the communication by supplementing any visual communication with audio communication.
Businesses commonly service customers through call centers staffed with technical support personnel, sales support personnel, or service personnel (hereinafter collectively referred to as sales representative) that can answer the customer's questions. Typically, these centers use an automated call distributor ("ACD") system to handle incoming calls from the telephone network. Commercially available ACD systems provide call processing, voice processing, data processing and network capabilities for the call centers. The ACD system usually routes customer calls to a sales representative. The sales representative typically uses a headset and a user device connected to the ACD system to respond to the incoming calls. The ACD system can route the calls to queues, which can be customized to reflect how a business wants to prioritize and route incoming calls.
While the customer is on-hold, the ACD system also provides the customer with information. Typically, the ACD system will notify the customer that the customer's call is important, "please hold", suggest that the customer call back during non-peak hours, or inform the customer the time the customer can expect to be on-hold, for example. In such an implementation, the customer has to wait on the telephone while listening to the repeated messages of the ACD system. This can frustrate the customer. It also restricts the customer from performing many other tasks while the customer is waiting on the phone for the sales representative or technical specialist. In some implementations, the ACD systems pipe advertising to the customer while the customer is on-hold. The customer, however, may not be interested in the products or services that are being advertised, and may have further frustration from being subjected to the advertisements. Alternatively, the ACD system can provides the customer with melodies during the on-hold period. In this implementation, however, the customer is still restricted from doing other tasks and the business looses an opportunity to advertise.
Another way businesses communicate with customers is via Internet web pages. Businesses elicit questions from customers by advertising the business's products on Internet web pages. Such web pages allow the customer requesting that a sales representative of the business contact them. To request service, the customer inserts their name and e-mail address or phone number in a space provided on the web page and activates a call-me button. Thereafter, the sales representative is sent an e-mail containing the request for service, to which the sales representative responds. However, when the sales representative responds, either by phone or e-mail, the customer is most likely no longer viewing the business's web page, and thus the business's web page cannot contribute to the sales representative's pitch. Moreover, the response is not immediate, sometimes with log times measured in days, and during the interim the customer may buy another product.
An intermediate solution to answer a customer's questions regarding products is presented by allowing the customer to use or view a demonstration of the business's product while on the Internet. By way of example, if a customer wants to buy software, the customer may go to the business's web site and request a software demonstration. The web site downloads to the customer the software demonstration. If all the customer's questions are answered by viewing the demonstration, then the customer can then purchase the software. If the customer still has unanswered questions, however, the customer will again have to either place a telephone call or wait for a delayed e-mail or call response.
A further disadvantage of providing the customer a software demonstration downloaded from the Internet is the amount of time it takes a customer to go to each web site, ascertain the product the customer wants to view, and then wait while the appropriate plug-in or code, for example, is downloaded to the customer's computer. If the customer only needs to view a part of the demonstration, downloading the entire code to a customer unnecessarily uses resources of the customer. In addition, the time the customer waits for code to be downloaded is again wasted time, just as was waiting on the phone. One solution to this problem is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,643 to Judson which claims a method for displaying information on a graphic user interface when a customer is waiting for a link to download on the Internet. However, this is akin to the making the customer listen to unwanted advertisements on the phone and, thus, still has the previously described problems.
A further disadvantage of downloading a software demonstration is that whatever is downloaded is viewed by the customer alone without the assistance of the sales representative. The software demonstrations are not usually concurrent-use software applications that can be viewed simultaneously at remote locations. Thus, the software applications cannot be viewed by both the customer and the sales representative simultaneously. Further, if they were, this would require even longer download periods. In addition, such applications would require a large amount of the customer's resources to run and be difficult for the customer to manipulate.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus to decrease the time between a customer's request for information over the Internet and a sales representative's response, such that the customer can still access the sales representative's web site.
It is another object of this invention to provide the customer with relevant information while they are on hold, thus enhancing the usefulness of the time that the customers are on-hold waiting to speak to a sales representative.
It is another object of this invention to allow business's to advertise products to customers while they are on hold that are of interest to the customer.
It is a further object of this invention to decrease the time and resources used to download information, such that the customer only has to wait for what that individual customer requires.
It is still another object of this invention to allow customers to communicate with the sales representative regarding the application without requiring the customer to learn the specific software applications.
It is still another object of this invention to allow customers to collaborate with the sales representative without using the customers time and resources to have a complex concurrent-use program downloaded to the customer.
It is a further object of this invention to allow sales representatives to conduct business over multiple networks, such as the telephone network and the Internet.
These and other objects of the invention will be obvious and will appear hereinafter.